New inn opens in Slate Hill

Friday

Sep 24, 2010 at 2:00 AM

SLATE HILL — The owners of a tony new inn that officially opened its doors Thursday hope it will complement their existing wedding and catering business, and local officials hope it will stimulate the economy and create jobs. The Catlin Gardens Inn held a grand opening for its Victorian-style inn, which boasts 40 rooms and suites, many with fireplaces, flat-screen televisions and other amenities, as well as 5 acres of gardens and banquet and meeting facilities.

Christian Livermore

SLATE HILL — The owners of a tony new inn that officially opened its doors Thursday hope it will complement their existing wedding and catering business, and local officials hope it will stimulate the economy and create jobs.

The Catlin Gardens Inn held a grand opening for its Victorian-style inn, which boasts 40 rooms and suites, many with fireplaces, flat-screen televisions and other amenities, as well as 5 acres of gardens and banquet and meeting facilities.

The owners hope the inn will enhance their thriving business by attracting more wedding parties because they can now provide a place for them to stay. They also hope to draw travelers from New York City, Westchester and Rockland counties who come to the area for weekend getaways.

"We're an Orange County family; we want to make this a destination," said co-owner Jennifer Stack. "We want to tie it in with wine tastings, apple picking. All the things we know about because we grew up here, we want to share those things with people coming in."

Opening an upmarket inn in this economic climate is a risky proposition, but the owners say they aren't worried. They are trying to keep their room rates within $20 of their competitors, Jennifer Stack said. And with wedding bookings up 40 percent from last year, they expect there will be a market for guests, said John Stack.

The inn has already created 30 jobs, and officials hope those jobs will in turn beget more jobs, as the inn workers buy gas, shop and eat in local restaurants, and travelers patronize local businesses.

The number of spinoff jobs that could be created is difficult to estimate, but a basic assumption is possible, said Christy Caridi, an economist at Marist College.

"If the people do buy local goods, it will stimulate demand in the economy and hopefully increase the demand for workers, or at the very least keep firms from closing," she said.

How well the inn does — and how long it takes to do it — is an open question.

But to Maureen Halahan, president of the Orange County Partnership, it has already contributed to economic development just by opening its doors.

"To me, this is a structure that represents that we're not quitting," she said. "To me, this is a monument to hope."